Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes April 16, Draft. City of Clearwater. City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33756

Transcription

1 City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL Meeting Minutes Monday, April 16, :00 PM Council Chambers Community Redevelopment Agency Page 1

2 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Doreen Caudell, Trustee Bob Cundiff, Trustee Hoyt Hamilton, and Trustee David Allbritton Also Present William B. Horne II City Manager, Jill Silverboard Deputy City Manager, Micah Maxwell Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin City Attorney, Rosemarie Call City Clerk, Nicole Sprague Official Records and Legislative Services Coordinator, and Amanda Thompson CRA Executive Director. To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Unapproved 1. Call to Order Chair Cretekos 2. Approval of Minutes The meeting was called to order at 1:16 p.m. at City Hall. 2.1 Approve the minutes of the April 2, 2018 CRA meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Hamilton moved to approve the minutes of the April 2, 2018 CRA meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Approve amendments to the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Cleveland Street District Façade Improvement Program Guidelines to provide grants for design assistance of $4,000 and construction of façade improvements; construction grants be matched dollar-for-dollar by applicant with up to $25,000 for fast track grant funding and up to 50% of façade improvement construction costs through the CRA Board approval process; and rename the program to CRA Façade Improvement Program Guidelines. With the updated 2018 Downtown Redevelopment Plan, the Page 2

3 CRA determined that it is important to partner with property owners who wish to participate in the construction of a high quality public realm. The 2018 plan builds on earlier studies from 2006 that encouraged the creation of a Café District on Cleveland Street to provide restaurants and merchants with opportunities for outdoor dining and other activities on public sidewalks. With the construction of Phase III of the Cleveland Streetscape project, the CRA anticipates that commercial properties on Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay in the Downtown Gateway district will begin to redevelop. To support the renovation of commercial facades, the CRA is recommending amendments to the current façade grant program including expanding eligible locations, increasing the amount of grant funding per project, providing design assistance and providing Director approval for grants $25,000 or less. In summary, the façade program matches dollar-for-dollar, the improvements made by the property owner or tenant. All funds will be used to further the goal to create a high quality public realm and must be applied to improvements that: (a) effect immediate improvement to the storefront area of the building including signage, lighting, entryways, windows, public art and other cosmetic or structural work associated with the first floor where customers interact directly with the building, (b) are in concert with first floor façade improvements as described in (a) above but that also may extend vertically to the upper areas of the façade. Isolated building improvements that are not directly connected to improvements at the street level façade are not allowed. All funds to be disbursed by the CRA on a reimbursement basis upon completion of the improvements and final inspections needed to satisfy permit requirements. APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT: Funding will come from Façade Program Implementation In response to questions, CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson said the program would include that portion of Cleveland Street that becomes Gulf to Bay Boulevard that is within the CRA district. To qualify for the incentive, the applicant must be located within the CRA district. Trustee Caudell moved to approve amendments to the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Cleveland Street District Façade Improvement Program Guidelines to provide grants for design assistance of $4,000 and construction of façade improvements; construction grants be matched dollar-for-dollar by applicant with up to $25,000 for fast track grant funding and up to 50% of façade improvement construction costs through the CRA Board approval process; and rename the program to CRA Façade Improvement Program Guidelines. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Page 3

4 5. Director's Report CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson provided Trustees an update regarding the land exchange agenda item to be heard by the City Council this week. She distributed copies of a map identifying proposed developments coming down the line, an updated appraisal map, and the 2018 CRA Major Projects List. Since starting with the City, she has met with all of the major stakeholders (i.e., Downtown Merchants Association, Downtown Partnership, Downtown Development Board, Neighborhood Association, Chamber of Commerce, etc.). The CRA has been able to meet some of their requests in the last couple of months, such as the Concierge Tour and the upcoming Dali Art Museum Patron Event, Craft Beer Festival, Children's Day Festival, and toured potential brewery sites with the Clearwater Downtown Partnership Executive Director. A Strategic Planning Meeting for the Downtown Development Board has been scheduled for May 22 at Collaborative Labs. Social investment is a key strategy and approach for Downtown redevelopment, which considers not only financial return on investment but how it continues to payback the City via relationships, additional resources, and leverage of private investments. She said the CRA is trying to attract additional private investment in addition to the public money the CRA is spending. The goal is to increase the property value of the CRA area, which provides additional funding to reinvest in the CRA area. The CRA must be deliberate and strategic about where the public dollars are invested. Ms. Thompson said the CRA can have the most impact in network expansion (i.e., attracting talented business owners, surfacing the ideas of residents wanting to invest), looking for barrier reductions (reducing the cost to improve facades), and branding (balancing the aspirational - Imagine Clearwater- with events that are happening now). She said there should be significant focus on housing and retail; every downtown that is sustainable has housing with retail within walking distance. Page 4

5 6. Adjourn Attest City Clerk The meeting adjourned at 1:31 p.m. Chair Community Redevelopment Agency Page 5